Today marks the feast of the Holy Name of Mary, a Marian feast day that has experienced several reversals in popularity. The feast of the Holy Name of Mary was first celebrated in Spain in 1513 but removed from the calendar by both Pius V and Benedict XIV. It was finally reintroduced by Innocent XI in 1683 after the Holy Roman Empire’s victory in the Battle of Vienna on September 12, 1683, which gives the current feast day its calendar date.

So what does Mary’s name mean, and why is it worth honoring?

The Meaning of Mary

The name “Mary” is the anglicized version of the Hebrew name Miryam, often written in biblical Greek as Mariam. Miryam is the name of Moses’ sister who praises God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and their safe passage through the Red Sea (Exodus 15:20-21), a psalm similar to Mary’s powerful hymn to God’s saving power in her Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55). As Jesus is rendered in the Gospels as the new Moses (Mt 2:13-15, 7:29, JN 6: 48-51), so Mary is portrayed as the new Miryam, the helpmate of Israel’s savior and a leader of her people. Interpretations of her name by biblical scholars and theologians vary widely—some notable examples include Source of Light, Scent of the Sea, and Star of the Sea. Developed in the 16th century in the Italian town of Loreto, the Litany of Loreto catalogs many devotional titles Catholics have applied to Mary, celebrating both her unique role in Salvation History and the beauty of her love for God, from which so many graces flow to us.

Honoring her Name

Names have a sacred status in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The second of the Ten Commandments requires Israel to keep holy the name of the Lord God. A name is more than just a label; it is part of the person who bears it. Our reverence for the person is reflected in our reverence for his or her name. Our names contain our identities and represent our mission—who and what we are to the world. Mary’s name holds the meaning of her own mission: to lead the world to the light of the world. Mary’s name given in the scriptures reminds us of God’s works of love and deliverance in history and speaks powerfully of who God desires her to be for us.

Bernard of Clairvaux writes that Mary is a “clear and shining star, twinkling with excellencies and resplendent with example, needfully set to look down upon the surface of this great and wide sea.” In life, we are constantly “battered to and fro by the gales and storms of this life’s ocean.” In the midst of life’s hurricanes and stormy waves, Bernard enjoins us to “look to the star, call on Mary. …If she lead thee, thou wilt never be weary. If she help thee thou wilt reach home at last.”

As we pray to and with the name of Mary, as we call to mind her name, may we remember that we are not on the journey of faith alone. And when the storms are particularly troublesome and the night is especially dark, may we look to the Mary, the star that perpetually shines and ceaselessly guides us to the source of her light, her son.

Mary, Star of the Sea and light who guides our way to Christ—pray for us!